Bill Text: NY A05290 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to the purchase of claims by corporations or collection agencies; relates to the inference of an assignee's intent and purpose in taking an assignment of a claim against an obligor that is not an eligible obligor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-06-03 - print number 5290a [A05290 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05290-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5290

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 7, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS, DAVILA -- read once and referred
          to the Committee on Judiciary

        AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the purchase of claims
          by corporations or collection  agencies  and  to  certain  instruments
          calling for payment of a monetary obligation by a foreign state

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 489 of the judiciary law, as added
     2  by chapter 394 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
     3    2. Except as set forth in  subdivision  three  of  this  section,  the
     4  provisions  of  subdivision  one  of this section shall not apply to any
     5  assignment, purchase or transfer hereafter made of one  or  more  bonds,
     6  promissory  notes,  bills  of  exchange,  book debts, or other things in
     7  action, or any claims or demands, if such assignment, purchase or trans-
     8  fer included bonds, promissory notes,  bills  of  exchange  and/or  book
     9  debts,  issued  by  or  enforceable  against  the  same eligible obligor
    10  (whether or not also issued by or enforceable against any other eligible
    11  obligors), having an aggregate purchase price of at least  five  hundred
    12  thousand dollars, in which event the exemption provided by this subdivi-
    13  sion  shall  apply as well to all other items, including other things in
    14  action, claims and demands, included in  such  assignment,  purchase  or
    15  transfer  (but  only  if  such  other items are issued by or enforceable
    16  against the same eligible obligor, or relate to or arise  in  connection
    17  with  such  bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange and/or book debts
    18  or the issuance thereof).   For the purposes of  this  subdivision,  the
    19  term  "eligible  obligor"  means an obligor that qualifies as a "debtor"
    20  within the meaning of Title 11 of the United  States  Code  (the  United
    21  States Bankruptcy Code).
    22    §  2.  Section  489  of  the  judiciary law is amended by adding a new
    23  subdivision 4 to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08948-01-3
        A. 5290                             2

     1    4. For purposes of subdivision one  of  this  section,  an  assignee's
     2  intent and purpose in taking an assignment of a claim against an obligor
     3  that is not an eligible obligor may be inferred from: (a) the assignee's
     4  (or   its  affiliates')  history  of  acquiring  claims  at  significant
     5  discounts  from  their face values and bringing legal actions to enforce
     6  those claims, (b) the assignee (or  any  predecessor  in  title  to  the
     7  claim)  having  refused to participate in a consensual settlement of the
     8  claim if holders of not less than two-thirds (by outstanding amount)  of
     9  similar  claims  against  the  obligor had agreed to accept the terms of
    10  that settlement, and (c) such other facts or circumstances  as  a  court
    11  may  find  relevant  in  assessing  the assignee's intent and purpose in
    12  taking the assignment.
    13    § 3. The judiciary law is amended by adding a  new  section  489-a  to
    14  read as follows:
    15    § 489-a. Sovereign debt modifications. 1. Every instrument governed by
    16  the  law  of the state of New York calling for the payment of a monetary
    17  obligation by a foreign state  (as  defined  in  28  U.S.C.  §  1603(a))
    18  imposes a duty on the holder to participate in good faith in a qualified
    19  restructuring affecting such instrument.
    20    2.  For  purposes of this section, a "qualified restructuring" means a
    21  modification of the terms of some or all of the unsecured  debt  instru-
    22  ments  issued  by a foreign state whose debt has been assessed as unsus-
    23  tainable by the International Monetary  Fund  within  the  prior  twelve
    24  months  provided that the modification is accepted by the holders of not
    25  less than two-thirds in amount and more than one-half in number  of  the
    26  debt  instruments  affected by the modification (excluding, for purposes
    27  of voting, any instruments that are owned  or  controlled,  directly  or
    28  indirectly, by the foreign state or any of its agencies or instrumental-
    29  ities).
    30    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.